Overview
- Two reputable gaming outlets published a leak attributing Pokémon Gen 10, titled Winds and Waves, to directors Hiroyuki Tani and Katsuhiko Ichiraku rather than longtime lead Shigeru Ohmori.
- The leak comes from an anonymous insider known as BallGuy and has not been confirmed by Game Freak or The Pokémon Company, so the claim remains reported but unverified.
- Coverage notes Tani and Ichiraku previously led well-regarded Pokémon DLC projects, which emphasized exploration and narrative and provide context for why their promotion would indicate a different design focus.
- Earlier leaked internal documents from 2025 described ambitious ideas for Winds and Waves—a Spore-like dynamic evolution system dubbed 'Seed' Pokémon and roughly 300 new monsters—but those design elements are reported and may not appear in the final game.
- If accurate, the reported leadership change would end Ohmori’s decade-long run as the franchise’s mainline director and could alter development priorities, and the next clear milestones to watch are any official director confirmations and further details from the developer.